Andy F Report And The Scary Costs Of Wrx Up Keep

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Think I am on my fourth visit to the bat cave in Port Setonski......and on my 6th remap overall.

It's a well oiled routine now. Leave Aberdeen early doors to miss the traffic at the Forth Bridge. Top up with V-power, secure a bacon roll n' cuppa. Then grab an Evo mag until the main man pitches up....

Anyways, I dont have much to report other than this mans attention to detail. It what cuts him apart from the rest

1. he takes one look at my FMIC then whips out a stanley knife and cuts ( with my permission) a very slender strip from underneath my bumper. Instant decrease in cooling as this section is nearest the bottom / inlets.

2. car was idling rough as a badger despite running fine for months. He then works out in seconds that the earth for the ACVR ( revs, power ) were disturbed when he plugged his laptop into the ECU. He promptly fires them back in and bobs your uncle. I have since soldered them back in properly

3. not making boost early enough in the rev range. He then ( with my permission again) bends the actuator arm neatly. ( my TD05-16G is non adjustable)

We're then off mapping and get the usual odd stares from the truck drivers in the layby when we pitch up with a probe hanging out the back end of the car and a dude wearing headphones in the pax seat

All I was really after was my burble back so I'd fitted new gaskets allround plus nicely ported / wrapped OEM headers ( cheers Arch) plus a true 3" H&S 100 cel Sportcat ( cheers pppNick) and a true 3" resonated HKS Ti tip centre section/ backbox ( cheers Wuz). I also got the gearbox oil and engine oil changed so she is running sweet.

Not sure of what my figures are now so need to get rolling roaded. I can "feel" that my torque figure is well up on before and the turbo chimes in more pronounced than before. I lose at the top end which is where the EL headers were awesome. However, The Patriot feels waaay faster now that I have the boost coming in a lot earleir and harder.

Andy also mapped the ACVR for each gear too. The turbo was capable of hitting 1.65 bar but we settled for max of 1.5 bar.

More importantly, I have my burble back ( pop n' growl) . I have really missed it and my WRX never really felt like a Scooby without it.

So many thanks to Andy for a quality piece of service .....

On another note, my car my only chucks out say 320 bhp / 300 torques but I was a bit alarmed to see what I had spent on her in the space of 10 months ! This is poor mans modding in comparison to Fai17

Headlamp Bulb £14.00

Wiper blades £18.00

New Age alloys £187.00

Spare Tyres £0.00

Fit + Strip tyres £40.00

Back box welded £22.00

Nurburgring Stickers £5.00

Mobil1 15W-50 fully synth £38.00

Filter & gasket for sump £7.00

Cusco 21mm ARB from JohnSt £60.00

CMB Autos - MOT + fitted brakes and installed fog light £235.00

Ian Godney - discs and pads all round plus braided hoses £390.00

Fresh Bumper from MY94 WRX (Adzer) £40.00

Fresh Bonnet Scoop from MY94 WRX (Adzer) £20.00

Wallace Dyno Runs :- mapping tweak, new spark plugs £280.00

New Reg Plate from Ebay : L* **M £99.00

Sti Alloys from Rossco with Advan Rubber £150.00

New Reg Plates made up by Fancyplates.com £35.00

Performance Creation Mudflaps from Ebay £65.00

OEM Rear Spoiler from Ebay £60.00

Bumper cut, fog lights & Spoiler sprayed and wired up. £250.00

Cusco ARB fitted, Rear Strut Brace & new Springs fitted £450.00

WRC style FMIC bonnet grill from DR Motorsport £100.00

OEM Headers ported/wrapped £70.00

Ajoining OE header gaskets £20.00

Donut Gasket £25.00

Manifold Gaskets £18.00

Hayward & Scott 100 Cel SportCat £350.00

HKS Titanium Limited Edition backbox/ centre £200.00

Exhaust & Headers fitted plus Gear/Oil change £200.00

Castrol Gearbox Oil & Rear Diff Oil £74.99

Mobil1 15W-50 fully synth £38.00

Andy Forrest remap £175.00

Total £3530

The journey is not over - suspension needs to be sorted before anything else happens. Will effectively keep restoring her. More than happy with power just now.

Cheers

Cal

Edited October 11, 2009 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[spot2]

Great write up Cal, we need more of this quality of writing!!

Cheers

Graham

P.S. I'm back down to the Port on 17th September at 10AM - can't wait! Even if it requires a 4AM start to get there!!

[ANDYJDMSTI]

A bulb for £14

Is the element made from Yeti pubes??

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

jews foreskins I believe

[ANDYJDMSTI]

[dipsy]

Good write up Cal were did you get the Mobil 15/50 oil from for 38 pound???

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Halfords periodically do it for 20% of for 5 litres. I know it's not as good as Millers or Motul but if I am changing it every 2-3000 miles then it makes sense

[dipsy]

Cal thats were i got the Mobil the last time from Halfords at that price .I like the mobil 15/50 over the millers 10/60

[bobbyc]

A bulb for £14

Is the element made from Yeti pubes??

Hey Andy just wait till one of yer zenon's go, I dropped the Audi off to get one checked out as it had gon dim,

went to pick it up & the car wasn't ready they were waiting on permission to fit the bulb, at a cost of £138 ouch

Enjoyed your write up Cal

Edited August 23, 2009 by bobbyc

[dipsy]

Hey Andy just wait till one of yer zenon's go, I dropped the Audi off to get one checked out as it had gon dim,

went to pick it up & the car wasn't ready they were waiting on permission to fit the bulb, at a cost of £138 ouch

Enjoyed your write up Cal

Andy would of had xenon hid bulb's in his Jdm Sti

[ANDYJDMSTI]

Hey Andy just wait till one of yer zenon's go, I dropped the Audi off to get one checked out as it had gon dim,

went to pick it up & the car wasn't ready they were waiting on permission to fit the bulb, at a cost of £138 ouch

Enjoyed your write up Cal

It's ok Bobby, i will just not drive at night now!!

[colin_ross]

Glad to hear you're pleased with the results Cal. I always feel a bit nervous before a mapping session, a bit like going to the dentist for a check up. You never know if it's going to be good or bad news.

These cars do cost money to keep them on the road and a lot more if you want to buy little goodies for them here and there. The way to keep the costs down is through total denial of what you've spent on the car. I have a drawer full of receipts that meither I (nor the wife) will ever look at cause that way I can tell myself it's not cost that much.

To be honest the trick about spending money on a car is to make sure that you get the benefit from it I'm not the least bothered about what I've spent because I have no intention if selling it and thats when you should look back and tally what it's cost you.

As for a rolling road session, I'm ready for one of those myself. Might have to look into booking out Dastek for the afternoon if anyone else wants to chip in.

[arch]

Is that all you have spent

Just shows how it all adds up though. I am a bit surprised you are using mobil one at £38 given that you can get proper synthetic oils such as Millers CFS 10/40and Motul 300v. The motul is a bit more but the millers is not much more than you are paying for the Motul semi-synthetic. Alyn at ASP does millers and motul oils at good prices

I personally wouldnt use Mobil 1 even in the road car it isnt worth the money as its not a true synthetic oil.

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

I have used Millers, Silkolene and Motul in the past and probably will again.......in the space of 10 months I have only gone 2500 miles with one track day. The oil was changed before and after the trackday but yes perhaps a better choice is the Motul. Opie reckons the Mobil is fine but the Motul is better.

Col - I know what you mean w.r.t being nervous. I drove the car off boost the whole way down so the first time we hit full boost during the mapping I was getting paranoid about a manifold or up-pipe gasket blowing. Having driven down from Aberdeen to P.Seton likely gave the gaskets a good bedding in at motorway speeds.

w.r.t money - my wife hates my "hobby" so expenditure is never "approved". I dont swally or gamble and my only other vice is mountain biking. However, my wife will effectively chuck her job in a few weeks when the baby arrives so I'll need to reign in the spending. Like you say, I have no intention of selling the car just now so I enjoy keeping the car in tip top shape.

[colin_ross]

Like you say, I have no intention of selling the car just now so I enjoy keeping the car in tip top shape.

Good lad.

Just be aware that the number of hobbies you can have is inversely proportional to the number of kids you have.

[dipsy]

Is that all you have spent

Just shows how it all adds up though. I am a bit surprised you are using mobil one at £38 given that you can get proper synthetic oils such as Millers CFS 10/40and Motul 300v. The motul is a bit more but the millers is not much more than you are paying for the Motul semi-synthetic. Alyn at ASP does millers and motul oils at good prices

I personally wouldnt use Mobil 1 even in the road car it isnt worth the money as its not a true synthetic oil.

Why say Mobil 1 is not a true synthetic oil??? .Its got on the contanier fully synthetic

Edited August 25, 2009 by Dipsy

[gambler]

Great write up Cal - Its scary how much these besties cost us. I have never been brave enough to keep a running total of how much the car has cost me. Ignorance is bliss!

[fai17]

Good write up Cal and get it ragged1